1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to chairs that stack and more particularly to nestable stacking chairs.
2. Related Art
Nesting stackable chairs are chairs that can be stacked one on top of another for storage. These chairs typically have a frame that allows one chair to nest on top of another chair. Nesting the stackable chairs minimizes the height of a stack of chairs because the legs of the chairs nest within or around adjacent chairs so that the seats and backrests of the chairs are very close to one another. Additionally, stacking chairs in this way minimizes the floor space required for chair storage since many chairs are stacked on top of a single chair, thereby saving valuable floor space for other things.
Such stackable chairs often have a tubular or wire frame with legs that are spaced apart so as to fit over and adjacent to the legs of an adjacent lower chair in order to nest with an adjacent lower chair. Similarly, one chair can be placed on top of another chair so that lower chair's legs nest within the legs of the upper chair. When properly nested, the seat portion of the upper stacking chair rests upon the seat portion of the adjacent lower chair, and the backrest of the upper stacking chair rests against the backrest of the adjacent lower chair.
Unfortunately, typical nesting stackable chairs are prone to damage because the stacking process can scratch, mar or otherwise damage the chairs. For example, even though the frame of a stacking chair is configured to fit around the frame of another stacking chair, the frame of the upper chair can scratch the frame of the lower chair as the upper chair frame slides onto the lower chair. Moreover, if the upper chair is skewed in relation to the lower chair, the metal frame of the upper chair can contact and damage portions of the lower chair that are more easily damaged, such as a cloth or plastic seat or backrest.
Additionally, the weight of the upper chairs can damage the lower stacked chairs. Since many chairs can be stacked together the weight on the lower chairs can crush and damage the seat and backrest cushions of the lower chairs.
Moreover, a stack of many chairs can easily become unbalanced and fall over. Typically, each successive upper chair in a stack of chairs is offset from the next lower chair in order to allow the backrests of the chairs to rest against the backrest of the lower adjacent chair. Consequently, the stack of chairs leans forward because each successive chair moves the center of gravity of the stack a little farther from the center of gravity of the bottom chair.
Additionally, typical stackable chairs simply slide onto one another allowing the upper chair to rest on whatever surface of the lower chair the upper chair contacts first. This further compounds the alignment issue of a stack of chairs because upper chairs may get skewed during the nesting/stacking process.